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Showdown in Cincinnati

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The Pittsburgh Pirates division hopes took a major hit Thursday as the St. Louis Cardinals keep winning and the Chicago Cubs took beat the Pirates 4-2 on Thursday afternoon. The Pirates are three games out of the division lead with three games to go.

Barring a Pirates sweep of the Reds and the Cardinals being swept by the Cubs, the Pirates division hopes are slim as the two heartbreaking losses to San Diego and Cincinnati last week ended up killing their chances at the division title.

All eyes are on the showdown in Cincinnati.

The stage is set. Barring the scenario above happening, a three game set between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates will decide who hosts the NL Wildcard Game Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m.

If the Pirates win two of three games, they host the Wildcard game. If the Reds take two of three games, the play in game is in Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh getting the home game is huge for them because of how much different of a pitcher Francisco Liriano is at home compared to the road where he is 8-7 with a 4.33 ERA.

The Pirates will send A.J. Burnnett to the mound Friday, Charlie Morton on Saturday and Gerrit Cole on Sunday, if Sunday’s game is meaningful. For now Liriano is scheduled to start the play in game and while this is not going to happen, it’s not a crazy idea that Gerrit Cole could be the best option to pitch the play in game if the Pirates by pass his start on Sunday.

Trade Buzz: Thursday’s 1-for-1 trade of young underperforming players saw the Minnesota Wild acquire center Victor Rask from the Carolina Hurricanes for left winger Nino Niederreiter. Carolina did an excellent job of being able to get out of the Rask contract, who has three years remaining with a $4 million cap hit. Rask has 1 goal, 5 assists on the season, mirrored in a 22-game goal drought. The logic here for Minnesota is taking the chance on a playmaking center who can help fill a top-9 spot longer term if the Wild move on from Eric Staal. Minnesota is also playing the card that a change of scenery will benefit the 24-year old who posted a career-high 21 goals, 48 points in 2015-2016.

Niederreiter’s trade value was stunted because of his contract, where he has three years left on his deal with a $5.25 million cap hit. Niederreiter is a player who is extremely hard to play against, drives possession well, and has three 20 goal seasons over his last four full seasons. Injuries (18 goals in 63 games) kept him from a 4th straight 20-goal season in 17-18. The Niederreiter acquisition also sets up as great insurance for the Hurricanes if they can’t resign Micheal Ferland. In the short-term, Carolina’s center situation is a mess with Jordan Staal sidelined with a concussion, but they’re getting the better player who fits the identity they’re trying to establish upfront, especially on the wings where they’ve identified the need for Patric Hornqvist type players.